Imformation

Gifted & Talented Information


 * GT education has not always taken the form it is seen in today. The original legislation that promoted GT programs was developed in 1969 and completed in 1972. After Russia won the space race the American school system got a once over by Congress thus creating the Maryland Report. The report was established the get a understanding of the gifted demographic in the schools. The findings for the report suggested that Gifted students were undeserved in the classroom. With that a definition for Giftedness was created:

"Gifted and talented children are those identified by professionally qualified persons who by virtue of outstanding abilities are capable of high performance. These are children who require differentiated educational programs and/or services beyond those normally provided by the regular school program in order to realize their contribution to self and society" (p. ix, Marland, 1972).

This is the most used definition of giftedness still today; however, in 1988 the Jacob K. Javits Gifted & Talented Students Education Act redefined Gifted & Talented:

//"Children and youth with outstanding talent perform or show the potential for performing at remarkably high levels of accomplishment when compared with others of their age, experience, or environment.These children and youth exhibit high performance capability in intellectual, creative, and/or artistic areas, possess an unusual leadership capacity, or excel in specific academic fields. They require services or activities not ordinarily provided by the schools. Outstanding talents are present in children and youth from all cultural groups, across all economic strata, and in all areas of human endeavor." (p. 388, 1994) //

As you can see the definition has changed in the fact that "talent" has been redefined to mean excelling in areas other then academics leaving gifted to fit the area of academics. This opened up the arena of gifted & talented to meat the creative, athletic and social areas of acceleration as well.

Other concepts presented to the public on intelligence and giftedness have been offer up by Renzulli and Gardner, both professionals in this field. Renzulli concludes that giftedness lies in three areas: (1) above average ability (2) task commitment (3) creativity and innovation. All threes are need to identify and gifted students in Renzulli's definition. Gardner states that their are 8 areas of intelligence and that giftedness means you have strength in the areas of verbal, visual, logical, bodily, musical, intrapersonal, interpersonal, and natural inelegance.

Friend, M. (2004). //Special education//. Boston: Pearson. || ======media type="youtube" key="MDJst-y_ptI" height="349" width="425" ====== GTAMoCo, (2010). //Top 10 Myths in Gifted Education// [Web]. Available from http://www.youtube.com/user/GTAMoCo ||